Christmas is the one time of the year when demands on personal budgets often exceed available funds and adverts for easy credit seem very tempting. For some families a Christmas debt burden this year may not be paid off before it is time to think of the following Christmas. In extreme cases, taking on debt to cover Christmas, can result in debt becoming a way of life.

Planning early can relieve some of the stress of the festive season and leave you in full control of your finances at the start of the New Year. The following tips will help you budget for the Christmas you can best afford:

Ø Early planning will help you judge the cost of your Christmas. Think about how much entertaining you will be doing at home or visiting friends. Make a list of the people you will need to get presents for and set a maximum spend against their names and stick to it. Don’t forget to include any Christmas events you will get involved with at work and include this amount in your calculations.

Ø Parents need to manage expectations with what can realistically be afforded and remember that they will be the primary target of the credit advertising industry, who will already know you don’t want to disappoint the kids. Don’t be fooled, the ads may be sympathetic to your position, but they are made to attract your business.

Ø Once you have figured out your Christmas cost, don’t forget your priority bills. Mortgage or rent, council tax and utility bills will still have to be paid. Returned Direct Debits are expensive, so are any late payment penalties regular monthly credit agreements but these can be avoided if budgets are planned and managed.

Ø If you have a credit card, shop around for a switch on balance transfers. Check out the costs of new purchases and take advantage of 0% offers on new purchases and plan your Christmas credit card spending to coincide with any offer period you can obtain.

Ø If you anticipate a need for an overdraft over Christmas, plan for it now. Make an appointment with you bank and get an arrangement in place before you need to use it. Unauthorised overdrafts are expensive and charges will be made if your account goes overdrawn without prior agreement.

Ø Store cards may seem an easy and convenient method of paying for Christmas. Their interest rates will be higher and therefore make them more expensive than credits cards from high street banks and will need to be factored into your New Year household budgets. Try to avoid them if you can.

Ø Try and spread your shopping over the months before Christmas. Look at your list and see which presents can be bought safely in advance for family and friends. Don’t put your Christmas shopping off and get caught out at the last moment. If you see an ideal present now, get it. Not only will you cross a name of the list, you will have more to spend later.

Remember, if you do get into debt and need help, there are free confidential advice services available. The Consumer Credit Counselling Service is a registered charity whose purpose is to assist people who are in financial difficulty by providing free, independent, impartial and realistic advice. The Debt Advice Trust offers a similar service and links to both are available at the end of this article.

Beware, there are many companies offering advice on debt and solutions for debt control. They may sound attractive, but will charge you a commission for the services they offer. If you need help to manage personal debts make sure you ask about charges. Commission payments to private debt management companies will mean it could take longer to get debt free.